Ed Sheeran Releases New Album ‘Subtract’ Hours After Winning Marvin Gaye ‘Thinking Out Loud’ Copyright Trial

Ed Sheeran Releases New Album ‘Subtract’ Hours After Winning Marvin Gaye ‘Thinking Out Loud’ Copyright Trial

  • Ed Sheeran emerged victorious in the Marvin Gaye copyright infringement lawsuit after being accused of plagiarising Let's Get It On
  • The British singer was sued by the heirs of Ed Townsend's estate, they claimed the singer's 2014 hit single Thinking Out Loud was similar to Gaye's hit
  • The singer who had denied copying Marvin Gaye's song had vowed to quit music if he loses the case

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Ed Sheeran has won the Thinking Out Loud copyright lawsuit in the USA. The British singer was taken to court after being accused of copying Marvin Gaye's song, Let's Get It On.

Ed Sheeran headlines on the Pyramid Stage during day 4 of the Glastonbury Festival 2017 at Worthy Farm, Pilton
Ed Sheeran has released a new album titled 'Subtract'. Image: Getty Images
Source: Getty Images

The Shape Of You singer was sued by the heirs of Gaye's co-writer Ed Townsend, who claimed that the singer's global hit Thinking Out Loud is similar to Gaye's hit Let's Get It On.

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Ed Sheeran wins court case after being accused of copying Marvin Gaye's Let's Get It On

According to the BBC, Ed Sheeran denied copying Marvin Gaye's song. The award-winning singer and songwriter claimed that he composed Thinking Out Loud without being influenced by Marvin Gaye's Let's Get It On.

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He allegedly told the jury that he was going to quit music if he loses the case that was filed against him in 2017. Speaking after his victory, Sheeran said:

"We've spent the last eight years talking about two songs with dramatically different lyrics, melodies and four chords which are also different and used by songwriters every day all over the world.
"These chords are common building blocks which were used to create music long before Let's Get It On was written and will be used to create music long after we are all gone.

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"They are in a songwriter's alphabet, our toolkit, and should be there for all of us to use."

In a judgement passed on 4 May, the jurors concluded that Sheeran composed Shape Of You independently and did not copy Marvin Gaye, The Daily Mail reports.

Ed Sheeran releases album titled Subtract hours after winning Thinking Out Loud copyright trial

According to The Independent, the Happier singer released his much-awaited album titled Subtract a few hours after winning the 100 million dollar lawsuit.

This is not the first time Sheeran has won a copyright lawsuit. A judge previously ruled that the singer did not copy Chokri’s 2015 song Oh Why on his hit Shape of You.

Sheeran copyright battle could stoke songwriting paranoia

In more entertainment news, Briefly News reported that Ed Sheeran is preparing for a blockbuster tour and album release amid regular trips to Manhattan's federal court. The singer is defending his songwriting in a closely watched copyright case.

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The trial centres on whether the British pop phenom plagiarised Marvin Gaye's 1973 soul classic, Let's Get It On in his 2014 hit Thinking Out Loud.

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Source: Briefly News

Authors:
Privie Kandi avatar

Privie Kandi (Entertainment Editor) Privilege Kandi is an entertainment news editor (joined Briefly in 2022). A Journalism and Mass Communication graduate from the Christian College of Southern Africa (2016), she has been in the arts and entertainment industry for six years. Privie has worked for the Zimbabwe International Film and Festival Trust as a communications officer and a writer and TV producer for lifestyle and entertainment channel CME TV. She passed a set of trainings by Google News Initiative. You can reach her at privie.kandi@briefly.co.za.

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